The FAO Schwarz Fellowship at
Brooklyn Public Library
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL)โs mission is to ensure the preservation and transmission of societyโs knowledge, history and culture, and to provide the people of Brooklyn with free, open access to information for education, reference and recreation.
About the Fellowship Position
Description
The FAO Schwarz Fellow will engage families experiencing homelessness by visiting shelters in Brooklyn to lead storytimes, arts and crafts activities and connect families with BPL resources for their direct service work, and will strengthen BPLโs role as a public institution by identifying areas of need, creating new resources, developing new opportunities and partnerships and evaluating the success of BPLโs offerings to families living in shelters and served through Satellite Services for their strategic project work.
Direct Service
The FAO Schwarz Fellow will focus on engaging families experiencing homelessness by visiting shelters in Brooklyn to lead storytimes, arts and crafts activities and connect families with Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) resources. They will also collaborate with Satellite Services to conduct outreach at community locations, including schools and parks, and work with the Kidsmobile team to offer books and activities for children and teens.
The Fellow will:
- With Outreach Services and other library staff, visit family shelters to facilitate storytimes modeling research-based practices, lead arts and crafts activities, assist library staff with family programs such as wellness activities, STEM workshops and cooking classes, and distribute library cards.
- With the Kidsmobile team, visit NYC Housing Authority complexes, schools, community centers, family shelters, transitional housing facilities and public spaces, including parks and community events to sign children up for library cards, lead storytimes and arts and crafts activities and engage youth and families in book browsing and borrowing.
- Conduct outreach at family shelters and other community locations to learn what types of programs and services are of most interest to families; determine where services are needed.
- Connect families to other BPL programs, including adult education, digital literacy workshops and teen internships.
- Coordinate and prepare for visits to shelters and other community locations, and research programming and service ideas.
Strategic Project
The FAO Schwarz Fellow will work on strategic projects designed to strengthen BPLโs role as a public institution providing impactful resources, programs, and services that support the educational, cultural, social, and economic well-being of all Brooklynites. This work will focus on identifying areas of need, creating new resources, developing new opportunities and partnerships, and evaluating the success of BPLโs offerings to families living in shelters and served through Satellite Services. ย The Fellow will:
- Work with the Outreach Services team to identify areas of need and interest for families and youth ages 0-18 living in transitional housing and migrant shelters.
- Create children's and young adults' collections to be shared on the Kidsmobile and used in programming.
- Develop a model for starting and maintaining library lending collections within shelters.
- Based on the family and youth needs identified in year one of the Fellowship, develop new resources, including multilingual and English Language Learner-friendly outreach materials that include activities for children and literacy materials for library staff to use when visiting shelters and working with children and families who are English Language Learners.
- Identify new programming opportunities and partnerships with the goal of expanding services in year two of the Fellowship.
- After a period of observation and implementing activities, create a method for evaluating the use and impact of Shelter Services and Satellite Services activities and materials; test the evaluation method and refine as needed; test again, repeat.
LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY
WEBSITE:ย bklynlibrary.org
FOUNDED: 1896
STAFF:1,390 (includes full and part-time employees)
Applications for these positions open November 1, 2025.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants must be college seniors at accredited four-year colleges or universities at the time of application and be eligible to work in the United States for the duration of the two-year Fellowship.
You may apply for more than one Fellowship. Consider the details of each Fellowship described below when you begin your application.ย
For more about what we are seeking, visit the application overview at this link.
The deadline to apply is February 1, 2026, at 9:00 pm ET. Host organizations will select applicants for interviews and make their decisions by the end of April 2026. Fellowships begin in the summer of 2026.
Learn more about the Brooklyn Public Library by visiting the website:
A Closer Look
About Brooklyn Public Library
ABOUT US
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is among New York Cityโs most democratic civic institutions and important public spaces, serving patrons in every Brooklyn neighborhood and open to all.
Through our flagship Central Library, Center for Brooklyn History, and 60 branches, BPL welcomes nearly six million people through its doors annually and offers over 70,000 free programs attended by more than 800,000 children, teens, and adults.
People visit the library to check out books, use computers and access the free Wi-Fi, attend programs and events, meet with human service providers, and much more. Unlike coffee shops or bookstores, everything at the Library is free. People are welcome to come into the Library to sit for five minutes or all day. BPLโs branches serve as cooling centers in summer and provide respite from the cold in winter. They also provide safe, welcoming, and non-judgmental places that contain a multitude of entry points for engagement with the Libraryโs offerings.
To expand our reach to serve more people, BPL also delivers services at community locations, including schools, shelters, hospitals, jails, and senior centers. All of this is in the service of BPLโs ongoing mission to ensure the preservation and transmission of societyโs knowledge, history, and culture, and to provide the people of Brooklyn with free, open access to information for education, reference, and recreation.
In a borough where 18% of residents live in poverty, including one in four children, and where the costs of basic necessities often take priority over spending on cultural and educational opportunities, BPLโs free resources and programs are critical to ensuring all people have the tools they need to become productive and self-sufficient citizens.ย
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Impact
Our Impact
BPL is an integral part of Brooklynโs social fabric and a fundamental community institutionโtruly the Peopleโs Library. Educational and cultural equity are at the forefront of everything BPL does, and the Library continuously tailors and adapts its services to meet the changing needs and interests of Brooklynites.
Over the last decade, one of BPLโs strengths has been its ability to meet emerging needs with new services. The Library is investing in staff capacity to respond to changing conditions on the ground.
By creating an organizational culture that supports innovation, BPL is able to identify new approaches, support their development, and share them across the system.ย
In Fiscal Year 2024, BPL recorded:
- Circulation of over 9.5 million physical and digital items
- Over 5.9 million visits (a 28% increase from the previous year)
- 73,000 public programs attended by over 817,000 children, teens, and adults (increases of 31% and 35%, respectively)
- Nearly 239,000 new library cards issued (33% increase); and more than 790,000 computer sessions provided (31% increase)โall free of charge.
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The impact of BPLโs services is broad and far-reaching. Children are exposed to a vast world of books (that they can take home!) and stories. Many grow up in the library, attending fun educational programs like robotics and arts and crafts, doing schoolwork, and making new friends.
Teens enroll in their first internships and work with caring, dedicated librarians who serve as mentors providing encouragement as they navigate high school and plan for college and career.
Adults come to the library to learnโfrom reading and writing to English and digital literacy. BPL helps people find jobs and start businesses. Dedicated older adult programming keeps a vulnerable population connected to one another and their communities. As a welcoming place, serving all people, BPL has something for everyone.
Policies
Brooklyn Public Library values the commitment to ensuring that we are an equal opportunity employer. The Library does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, national origin, alienage, or citizenship status, age, disability or handicap, sex, marital status, domestic partnership status, veteran status, sexual orientation, arrest record, genetic predisposition, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.
These principles extend to all employment decisions, including recruiting, hiring, and training; promotions, pay, and benefits; transfers and workforce reductions; and all other terms and conditions of employment. The Library will endeavor to make reasonable accommodations for the known physical and mental limitations of a qualified candidate or employee with a disability or such individualโs sincere religious need, unless such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the Libraryโs business operations. Employees must bring such issues to the attention of the Human Resources Department.
Anti-Harassment Policy
Brooklyn Public Library is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Mutual trust and the absence of intimidation, oppression, and exploitation should characterize the environment of the Library. Employees must be able to work and learn in a safe environment. Harassment consists of unwelcome conduct, whether verbal, physical, or visual, that is based on a personโs race, creed, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, disability, marital status, citizenship status, or any other classification protected by law.
Therefore, BPL expects that all relationships among persons in the workplace will be business-like and free of bias, prejudice, and harassment. Through the enforcement of this policy, Human Resources will seek to correct and discipline behavior that violates this policy.
Compensation & Benefits
COMPENSATION
Fellows who start their Fellowship during the summer of 2026 will receive total compensation of approximately $110,000 (Boston & New York) plus benefits over the two-year Fellowship.
- $52,000 in year one (includes $2,000 start of Fellowship bonus)
- $58,000 in year two (includes $3,000 end of Fellowship bonus)
- Entry-level benefits from the host organization
- Professional development & leadership training
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BENEFITS
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Paid time off
- Paid sick leave
- Retirement plan
- Pre-tax commuter benefits
For general questions about compensation, please see the Fellowship FAQ.ย
Typical Work Schedule
The Fellow will primarily work Monday through Friday, 9:00 am-5:00 pm.
BPLโs full-time staff work on a hybrid schedule. The five-day week will be divided by days working in the library and the other days working remotely in the field. The Fellow will have the option to work a hybrid schedule. In-branch days will vary each week based on programming needs
Brooklyn Public Library plans for its Fellow to start in July or August 2026.